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Holorad and Ripplewake claim runners up prizes of $15,000 in cash and consulting services

I’m excited to start working with the Grow Utah Ventures team, USTAR and the other sponsors. They have tremendous expertise and experience that we can leverage as we take this idea and grow it into a business that will create new jobs here in Utah, while bringing a product to market that will change the way we use mobile devices to share ideas and content.

As the grand prize winner, Pixelture, Inc. will receive a prize of $35,000 in cash and consulting services. Pixelture has created a solution that allows multiple notebooks and smart phones to connect to and share one or more fixed displays through a wireless connection.

“The ‘Concept to Company’ Contest is a real game changer for Pixelture. It provides us with two critical things we’re in need of, cash and mentorship,” said Justin Strong, Founder & CEO of Pixelture, Inc. “I’m excited to start working with the Grow Utah Ventures team, USTAR and the other sponsors. They have tremendous expertise and experience that we can leverage as we take this idea and grow it into a business that will create new jobs here in Utah, while bringing a product to market that will change the way we use mobile devices to share ideas and content.”

Holorad and Ripplewake were named the two runners up and will each receive prizes of $15,000 in cash and consulting services.

Holorad has a patented process of creating interactive 3-D holographic imagery which doesn't require special glasses for viewing.

Ripplewake developed a method of splitting a single audio source containing multiple sources into new corresponding single tracks. This will improve audio output in live broadcasts, performances, cell phone communication and more.

Eight finalists presented their concepts to a panel of industry experts on Friday, March 5 on the campus of Utah Valley University. Three winners were selected and on Wednesday, March 10 had an opportunity to present their concepts again to the same panel of judges and attendees at the Pushbutton Digital Media Summit. Craig Bott, president and CEO of Grow Utah Ventures announced the grand prize winner and two runners up.

“The purpose of the ‘Concept to Company’ contests is to stimulate our local economy and create new jobs and we’re confident that Pixleture, Holorad and Ripplewake all have the ability to accomplish these goals,” said Bott. “Digital media is a booming industry here in Utah and these three companies will go a long way to furthering this growth and helping solidify Utah’s reputation as an innovator in this area.”

Grow Utah Ventures received more than 100 entries for this first digital media “Concept to Company” Contest. The “Concept to Company” Contests are designed to encourage and promote entrepreneurism throughout Utah. Each competition focuses on a different industry and matches the unique entrepreneurial strengths of that particular region. The Digital Media “Concept to Company” Contest specifically targeted computer animation, gaming, graphics, media technology, and mobile phone applications.

About Grow Utah Ventures
Grow Utah Ventures, is a privately funded not-for-profit organization dedicated to stimulate, unlock and develop the entrepreneurial talent and early stage business opportunities for value creation across Utah. Comprised of a team of successful and experienced entrepreneurs, business leaders and private investors, Grow Utah Ventures accomplishes its mission by ?Identifying, selecting and recognizing accomplished and promising Utah entrepreneurs, ?Building a statewide community of outstanding entrepreneurs and those interested in promoting entrepreneurial development, ?Partnering with organizations, companies and investors seeking to support Utah’s best entrepreneurs, ?Rallying community leadership and financial resources to support entrepreneurial development. For more information about Grow Utah Ventures, visit http://www.growutahventures.com.

About Zions Bank
Zions Bank is Utah’s oldest financial institution, and is the only local bank with statewide distribution of branches, operating 114 full-service branches throughout Utah. Zions Bank also operates 24 full-service branches in Idaho, and nearly 200 ATMs throughout Utah and Idaho. In addition to a wide range of traditional banking services, Zions offers a comprehensive array of investment and mortgage services, and has a network of loan origination offices for small businesses nationwide. The company is also a leader in providing electronic banking services, including electronic municipal bond trading. Founded in 1873, Zions has been serving the communities of Utah for more than 135 years. Additional information is available at http://www.zionsbank.com.

About USTAR
The Utah Science Technology and Research initiative (USTAR) is a long-term, state-funded investment to strengthen Utah's "knowledge economy” and generate high-paying jobs. Funded in March 2006 by the State Legislature, USTAR is based on three program areas. The first area involves funding for strategic investments at the University of Utah and Utah State University to recruit world-class researchers. The second area is to build state-of-the-art interdisciplinary facilities at these institutions for the innovation teams. The third program area involves teams that work with companies and entrepreneurs across the State to promote science, innovation, and commercialization activities. For more information, go to http://www.innovationutah.com or follow http://twitter.com/Innovationutah.

About Workman Nydegger
Based in Salt Lake City, W|N has earned recognition as one of the top patent prosecution and intellectual property litigation firms in the nation. The firm represents a wide array of clients in all areas of intellectual property law, including patent, trademark, copyright, unfair competition, and related litigation and licensing matters.

About Ballard Spahr
Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP traces its origins to 1885 and became known as “Ballard and Spahr” in the early 1900s when Ellis Ames Ballard and Boyd Lee Spahr began practicing law together. The firm has grown to be one of the largest law firms in the country, with over 550 attorneys and 12 offices located throughout the United States. As a large, multi-practice, multi-regional law firm, Ballard Spahr is able to combine a national scope of practice with strong local market knowledge to represent companies, individuals, and other entities in virtually every state and country around the world.

About CFO Solutions
CFO Solutions LC is Utah’s largest and oldest outsourced financial and accounting services provider. The CFO Solutions team has collectively amassed over 250 years of combined experience managing the finance and accounting functions for small to medium size companies that don’t need or cannot afford full time staff in those functions. Our experiences cover dozens of industries including; Software, Healthcare, Manufacturing, Biotechnology, Retail, Distribution, High Tech, Real Estate and more. Since its founding in 1996, CFO Solution’s clients have raised over $470 Million in equity, debt and lease financing with our support.